Are Starbucks And Amazon Cards About To Replace Local Library Cards?

One of the things I missed in my early days in America was the European style cafe. Not for the coffee, but the community spirit.

I soon discovered a place that filled that void: the
local library. It offered a sense of a community center plus a broad selection of books and magazines, not to mention prompt and friendly assistance by professional librarians.

No coffee. No talking in the reading rooms. But I could live without it.

Then came
Starbucks, offering a more pleasant and less restrictive environment than my library.

At Starbucks I could use my laptop to browse over newspapers and journals, enjoy a cup of coffee under the sounds of new age music, and use my mobile phone. And I could chat with other patrons.

That’s why I have ended up using my Starbucks card more than my local library card.

And judging from the popularity of Starbucks, I’ll probably have more and more of company.

Increasingly, the local Starbucks looks more like the local library. The only thing missing is the book stacks, the strict rules of conduct, and the tax bill.

Until now, that is. Now comes
Amazon.com to offer unlimited access to its e-book library for a few dollars monthly subscription.

Does this mean that Starbucks and Amazon cards are about to replace library cards, making libraries redundant?

Not so fast.

Local libraries have taken notice of Starbucks, and are trying to create a less restrictive environment, turning more in the direction of becoming “information centers of the future” rather than “hushed sanctuaries of the past,” according to Katharine Q. Seelye of New York Times.

Some libraries are bringing Starbuck-like coffee shops into their premises. “The Pioneer Library System, in Oklahoma, purchased an old Borders building and renovated it,” writes a reader in response to one of my previous pieces on the topic. “While a large part of the building is administrative offices, there is a public part which is a library with a coffee shop. The coffee shop is operated by a local coffee/wine bar owner. So it’s a win-win for local business and the community.”

But libraries offer much more than what Starbucks and Amazon offer together -- anything from Internet terminals to job-search services, concerts, book presentations, and free video-rentals--to name but a few.

Above all, “librarians love their work & their communities, and want to serve in many ways,” as another reader put it. “Space, permissions, and funding — not desire or lack of understanding customers — are what stand in their way.”

I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I still hold on to my local library card.